Rodney Ellis

Rodney Ellis was elected to the Texas Senate in 1990. During his tenure, Senator Ellis has earned praise as a leader on economic development, education, civil rights, responsible environmental policy, tax cuts for the middle class, criminal justice, and workforce development issues.Senator Ellis has passed over 500 pieces of legislation. One of his most notable accomplishments includes passage of the TEXAS Grant program, which has disbursed almost $1.8 billion in tuition and fees to over 207,000 students. The program continues to educate students for the improvement of the Texas workforce.Senator Ellis also passed a middle class tax relief bill that created a 3-day sales tax holiday and provided businesses franchise tax relief for job creation, capital investment, and research and development. The bill has saved taxpayers over $3.6 billion--$2.7 billion in sales tax savings on several items, including energy efficient appliances, back to school items, and nonprescription medicine--and over $827 million in franchise tax savings for job credits, research and development credits, and small business credits.Most recently, Senator Ellis passed an amendment to create a green jobs development and training program to help Texans prepare for employment in the burgeoning green technology industry and to usher the state of Texas into a environmentally responsible and secure future.